Although child support is ordered by the court, situations may come up in which parents cannot or choose not to make their monthly support payments. Whatever the cause, lacking this financial support may affect the custodial parents’ ability to provide for their children’s needs. As such, they may pursue enforcement assistance from the state.
The state of Florida’s child support program has numerous enforcement options, which it may take against parents who fall behind on their court-ordered payments and do not pursue alternative payment arrangements.
Income withholdings
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, the child support program may issue income withholding notices to ensure parents comply with their support payments. In such cases, the parents’ employers receive a notice directing them to withhold a specified amount from the parents’ paychecks and forward the funds to the state for application to the parents’ arrears or monthly obligations.
Fund intercepts
In addition to withholding child support amounts from parents’ earnings, the child support program may collect funds for past due payments from other sources. This includes funds received by parents who owe child support from tax refunds, workers’ compensation benefits and insurance settlements. The program may also collect owed amounts from parents’ bank accounts, as well as place liens on parents’ property such as boats and motor vehicles.
License suspensions
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, the program may also suspend the driver’s licenses of parents who fail to comply with their court-ordered payments. Further, the state may pursue a suspension of parents’ professional, business and recreational licenses or to deny applications for passports.